While the world watches the Copenhagen UN climate negotiations and the enormous differences between the magnitude of the climate challenge and the ability of the world’s governments to agree on anything in these negotiations, we may well realize that the world never has been changed by consensus or a unanimous UN decision. Jürgen Maier comments.
The statement by Chinese civil society groups on climate change is clearly a welcome one: without China the challenge of global warming cannot be solved, and so far there has been no major emitter country where a policy change towards low-carbon development has been possible without active civil society involvement or pressurer... ... this article comes up in WDEV 6/Nov-Dec 2009 is for subscribers only. For direct log in >>> click here.If you have no subscription >>> pick your option or >>>
After decades of isolation - imposed by major OECD countries out of concern for the country's human rights violations - Myanmar is emerging as a new darling of the "West" - judging by the accelerating succession of visits by senior officials and gurus. New groups of investors are waiting to enter the country as soon as possible.
Persistent high unemployment, the euro area debt crisis and premature fiscal austerity have already slowed global growth and factor into the possibility of a new recession. Now the United Nations have downgraded significantly its forecasts for the world economy in the next year.
Eastern European states are in for a new round of the crisis. The external control of the banking sector and high reliance on external credit has landed the countries of Eastern Europe in a vulnerable position. Now, credit flows from Western banks are drying up again. Hungary has been the first country in the region to ask for IMF support again.
While the G20 efforts to manage global aggregate demand, exchange rate management and stronger regulation of the international financial sector have not worked out quite as planned, in Cannes the Group was further solidifying its role in directing the system of multilateral institutions.
In November 2011, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is celebrating its 50th anniversary.The new Minister, Dirk Niebel of the (neo)-liberal FDP has launched a 'radical change of course'. In the recent edition of the Reality of Aid shadow report the change is analyzed.